5 Steps to Quitting Meth: Is it Really that Easy?

Quitting meth is hard as hell. I won’t sugar coat it and I won’t lie to you. The path to becoming “normal” once again will be a battle fought moment by moment; especially in the beginning. However, if I could sum up the process of kicking meth according to the steps involved to help you see the process as a roadmap, I would sum it up in 5 steps:

Make up your mind

Making up your mind to be done for good is quite likely the most important step towards being clean. Without your mind’s full commitment to being clean you will find yourself making excuses and your sick brain will undermine your efforts in the long run. Your desire to quit has to be stronger than your want to be high and that’s eff’in hard. You have to be 100% done with the hell that existing while using meth is causing you. You have to keep your focus on the other side of this hell – and it will come. It will.

Find things that you can focus on and write them down in a journal or even on a piece of paper that you can keep close. You will need this to remind yourself why you are going through this. I suggest starting with these two ideas:

First: Write down how you feel right this minute and don’t spare any feelings or thoughts. No one will see this but you, so be real and completely candid.

Second: Write down a list of reasons for becoming clean and be specific. List each of your kids by name, your spouse, your health — everything that is important to you and at the top add your name – because you are loved despite the lies you’ve let meth tell you. Without you, the people on the list would be devastated. You have to care about you first so that you can be a better spouse, parent, friend, sibling — person.

Get support

You can’t do this alone; well maybe you can, but it’s going to add 1000% to the difficulty of quitting. I would highly recommend finding a local Narcotics Anonymous (NA) group at a minimum and/or find a rehab facility that supports your beliefs and get in touch with them. Do this now, before you have a chance to lie to yourself again about not being able to do this.

Having someone(s) to lean on is very important. If you decide to utilize N/A or an outpatient rehab program, get the phone number of your sponsor or counselor and use it! Don’t be afraid to call on them for help – that’s what they’re there for. You will need support during the hard times — sometimes you may just need someone to talk to and other times you might be really going through it and need to fully lean on them for strength. They have seen it all before and in many cases they (especially NA sponsors) have been through it themselves.

Fight the cravings

Cravings SUCK (to put it mildly), but they do fade. Most cravings last around five minutes and if you can get past those five minutes without calling a dealer or making plans to hook up – you’ve won a battle. It’s a battle you will fight over and over, but the time between cravings do grow further and further apart with time. Some ex-meth-addicts say they don’t have cravings any longer while others say they never fade – either way, you have to use your coping skills to get past them when they come on.

Change your surroundings

Get the hell away from those that enable your habit. This may mean that you have to write-off damn near everyone in your life, but you MUST do this – I can’t stress the importance of this. You can’t half-ass it either, because as soon as you let that friend back into your life you will find yourself sitting on the couch with a pipe in your hand wondering how in the hell you let this happen again.

The people in your life that are using or helping you use right now, WILL 100% cause you to relapse – There is no grey area here. You have to walk away. Don’t take their calls, don’t visit, don’t go down streets you used to go down or even tempt yourself with ideas to do so. Put the word out that you’re done and mean it. Word will travel and they will get the hint. Hell, yes this sounds mean, but remember what I said above about doing this for you? You must be selfish right now and care more about your sobriety than their hurt feelings.

Make new habits

You’ve left most everything you know behind by this point. You’ve stopped doing what’s familiar, you’ve got no “friends” and nothing seems familiar or comfortable – this is normal, at least at first. It’s normal to reminisce about the “fun” you had while high or how much energy you had, etc. — This is when you do two things: Pull out your journal or list that should be tattered and wrinkled by now and read it – all.

Find new things to occupy your time and your mind. It doesn’t matter if it’s as simple as going for a walk or chewing gum when a craving sets in, you will need to retrain yourself and shift your focus towards positive changes. Start exercising and/or throw yourself into something you love and you will find that as you become more involved in these things, you will make new friends and become surrounded by people that are interested in things you love to do that are healthy.

Now, that’s the gyst of it – and it’s much easier on paper than in practice, but quitting meth really does boil down to these crucial steps. There is no one-size-fits all manual to help you get sober. You will face challenges that are unique to your situation in the process, but know that you aren’t alone. Many, many people have fought their own battles and are able to not only live to tell the story, but are here to help you. Find support and lean on it – don’t try to go it alone.

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I am trying to quit meth right now. I have made my mind up to be done but the physical part is horrible. Not working and having to much time on my hands is a recipe for disaster. I still have to remain strong and keep my eye on the goal. Thank You for your blog. It just gave me a little tingle to keep pushing when I physically want to die.
Thanks, not lost anymore

drewsky

thanks 4 the wake up dam good advice!

Guest

Now that you have made up your mind, keep thinking about how clean you are. Eventually you won’t want to ruin that. You are so right about not working and having too much time, but eventually you will replace that with something else you like to do. Find any little project to work on, no matter how small. I went back to school, colored with crayons, made cards . . . created anything! I now have my B.S in Information Technology a couple of certifications. I wish you the best. I spent $125.00 to clean my system and hair for good and after that I didn’t want to do anything even though some friends try and tempt me (texting and offering). Its been 2 years now and I feel WONDERFUL!! You will too!!

echoppp

Since Peyton Manning jersey 2011 led the Packers to win the Super Bowl, and Super Bowl MVP in the bag, Rogers has shouldered a heavy burden, every game has its critics staring at him and Broncos jerseys expect him to find the wrong place, and Packers record this season is certainly only 2 wins

kmk1993

Thank u for ur blog. j have been having a really hard time quitting… been clean for almost 3 months but the cravings keep getting worse. but my life is getting a lot better … I’ve been going to the gym to keep my mind off of the cravings cause they really do help going to the gym.

christy

Believe in yourself…Remember the saying….don’t know who said it but it is so true….If it is to be, it is up to me…..I repeat it any time I need a reminder of how my life is going…..don’t remember where I heard this but they knew what they were talking about…..

Steve

This is actually the first time I’ve taken a look at any blogs about meth. First off, I say kudos to Some Chick, and everybody else who posts their stories and experiences with meth. I’ll be very brief right now about my experience. In a nutshell, I was about as deep into meth as anyone could possibly be for about 3 years. I lost everything (family, friends, jobs, financial assets, all of my possessions, my dignity and self-respect), and ended up doing almost 4 years in jail and prison. The great news is that I finally beat it, and have been 100% clean and sober for almost 4 years now. My main point is there is always hope, never give up on yourself, you can beat it too. I’ve written a memoir about my time as a meth addict, and about my path in recovery. The book will be released late this year. I’ll share how to get the book when its released. I believe its a must read for anyone thinking about using meth, experimenting with meth, or fully addicted to meth (and their families). Good luck to everybody out there who wants to improve their lives, to free themselves from this horrible drug, sustain the positive changes they’ve made, and help others still trapped in the nightmare. Stephen Mucci.

Jennifer Martinez

I want to thank you for having the guts to write a blog about quitting meth. I recently took my seven year old son of Adderall, a type of meth. I recently found out that can stay in his system for two weeks, and I like knowing what I can do to help him become clean,

Jump

Hey Steve first off you should be proud of your accomplishment, kudos brother. I’d like info about your book and am trying to find a reason to stop this insanity that has had all the effects you mentioned. Guess I feel I’d have more dignity left if I checked out of this world now as opposed to when I start doing all the things I said I’d never do in speed world.
My email is Jumper1818 In hopes I don’t get ton’s o’ spam note that its at aol.com

IMAK

I call off meth for a day or two “The Zoots”. It feels like you’re shorting out. Zoo zoot zoooott

Drex

I’ve read your blogs, and all the comments I want to thank all of you. I do many things to stop using meth, but i failed. Always failed i hated my self and asking why all of this is happen to me? I know that all of this is the meth itself. But thanks for all your steps of killing and defeating this kind of drugs.

David Balogh

Thanks for great advice & your inspiring “testimony.”

mykason

2002-2009 used every week. Sometimes I just didn’t have any. For what ever reason. 2010-2015 I didn’t use. Its 2015 I went back to work. I’m using again. I don’t know where this will end. 2009 I ended up in prison for a year. Not method but other drugs. Im bipolar. Up and down. That’s my life. I heart people that love me. Its not just the meth. Being bipolar doesn’t help at all. Nether does the doctors medds. I only have energy for work nothing elts when I’m on the doctors medds. When I’m not on the doctors medds the same way. I have to gear myself for work, then there’s nothing left. Method let’s me live a little. I know the addiction will take over. But I get to live for a short time. My hart goes out to all my brothers and sisters living with bipolar and addiction. Make the best of the good times. Live as much as you can. None of this will last for ever we all die.

Gregorio Thousandaire

Excellent article. I am dealing with my meth head right now, and these resources are proving to be invaluable. Thank you…

Alberto

Thank you so much am at that point right now . I’m her fighting between trying to keep going or go back to normal fucken bs

Karl

I quit doing meth 22 years ago,it lasted 7 years.I went through recovery,go really active in all the meetings,and after a couple years became a counselor. All seemed great then a relationship I was in ended with the women aborting my child after we had planned this child for over a year,going to planned parenthood classes the whole time. 6 months into the pregnancy she freaked out one night said she was going to her mother’s for the night(I figured hormones from the 3rd trimester)3 days later I get a call from a girl that was told what she had done,letting me know what had happened,and I lost it.I still have the Sanna gram picture to this day of my unborn son.about a month after all this I gave up my job started using hard again and collecting money for some of my drug dealing buddy’s. 2 years later I met my wife that I’m w I am with to this day. She used but very little and that slowed me down big time,and got me away from doing crazy shit. We’ll about 2 years ago we lost our house we had lived in and tell 5 days before we lost it had thought we owned.(another long story) well we found ourselves homeless,but thanks to some people we knew where giving a place to stay for 4 months cause they had moved out of the area and told us if we packed there house up for them we could stay tell it sold. After it sold we moved in with a roommate that seemed ok but 6 months into that we came home from dinner at some friends one night and within 10 minutes of walking in the door was raided by the drug enforcement agencie and learned that night our roommate was dealing pounds of meth.I was using a small amount at this Time in my life but my wife not at all cause of a great job she had kept for the last 15 years.the police didn’t care about any of that and sighted her anyway just for living in the house.I kept tellin them she didn’t do it ,but they would just laugh.that was a year and a half ago,sence then she has lost her job cause of it,we are living with another friend and we are loosing everything we have worked for.I have started using again and killing myself inside for what I’ve aloud to happen to her. I am so ashamed of my self ,but I keep telling her I’m gonna loose everything including her before it is all over,telling her she deserves so much better,but she just holds me and tells me she’s not going anywhere. I love her but I’m fucking loosing it with guilt. I really,really need help.I cry whenever I’m alone,but can’t seem to pull my head out of my ass. Help!

David Julian

Please contact me I was very moved by your story and I’d like to talk. I can’t even begin to explain how similar my story is. Send me an email and I’ll give u my cell davidjulian3@gmail.com